Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne Atlas Reconstructed in Berlin Exhibitions

Two major Berlin institutions, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) and the Gemäldegalerie, are presenting concurrent exhibitions dedicated to the unfinished image atlas 'Mnemosyne' by art historian Aby Warburg (1866–1929). Warburg, a pioneer of Bildwissenschaft (image science), developed a method of arranging images on panels to trace visual echoes across cultures and time periods, from antiquity to modernity. His work, which treats photographs and paintings with equal interest, anticipated contemporary visual culture and global art studies. The HKW exhibition reconstructs the 'original' version of the atlas through extensive archival research at the Warburg Institute in London, where the materials were relocated in 1934 to escape the Nazis. The Gemäldegalerie displays around fifty artworks that Warburg studied and included in the atlas panels via reproductions. Together, the shows offer a unique glimpse into his intellectual processes. Warburg's reputation has grown through followers like Georges Didi-Huberman and Horst Bredekamp, though his work is often referenced more than read. The atlas consisted of nearly a thousand plates across 63 panels at his death.